A Wife's Crime
by Hakugei
Summary: AU. When a woman is accused of a crime no one believes her story. No one except Yoriki Echizen Ryoma. Now Ryoma is conducting a private investigation on finding the truth. Can he do it?
1. Chapter 1

**This is a fic that takes place in ancient Japan around the 1600s. For once I want to do a mystery story like a detective story in ancient Japan so here it is! I'm no expert on this period, but I tried to keep it fit for the settings as well as keep the characters as in-character as possible.**

**DISCLAIMER: I'd get DVD player software for my laptop right now so I can make music videos without the darn PC if I owned PoT**

**WARNING: OOC, AU (Historical Fiction)**

**PAIRINGS: Haven't thought about it. There might be some RyoSaku, but don't get your hopes up too high seeing as that I end up doing no pairings**

**Chapter 1**

In the crowds of a busy street was a brown mare slowly making its way through an endless crowd bearing a rider. The rider saw from atop his mound people carrying goods to and from the market place; water bearers carrying buckets of water on their backs; shoppers and tradesmen bent low under the burdens they carried. This wasn't making the man's progress except merely raising him up from the crowd.

This man, in particular, was no ordinary man. He was newly appointed senior commander Echizen Ryoma. He was a yoriki, somewhat of a detective. He bore a katana and a short sword, which marked his samurai status. Unlike most samurai, though, his greenish hair was cut short and he never wore hair oil hating the stench it brought. Yes, this samurai was quite unique if somewhat strange.

Ryoma used to give private lessons on sword fighting for a small fee. However, due to the financial problems going on with his family he was forced to work as a yoriki. He didn't miss teaching others how to fight with a sword, in fact he thoroughly despised it, but he missed sparring at the small dojo that he frequented often. He was highly skilled for someone his age and everyone he faced often left as the losers. He had trained with Chinese martial artists learning many forms of martial arts and weaponry. Martial arts were only another thing that the Japanese adapted from China.

The yoriki turned right on the corner of the street ignoring the heads turned to stare at his back or his swords. Ryoma kept passing shops of all sorts including a sword's shop and a painting shop containing poor quality paintings. All of which did not interest the man at all. He turned another corner.

And came upon the three blocks that leveled a whole row of houses from yesterday's fire. The smell of burnt wood filled the air and former residents were scraping through what was left of houses for scraps. Ryoma scrunched up his nose from either the stench or from pure disgust. Two years before he was born the Great Fire erupted killing hundreds of people and even now the fires kept erupting. Some were innocent mistakes like putting a candle too near a paper door, but arson wasn't uncommon either, though Ryoma found burning down a whole row of houses for revenge quite idiotic and utterly stupid. Every night the people laid on their futons in fright waiting for the firewatchers from their rickety towers to ring the bells if a fire broke out.

Ryoma decided that maybe he should handle this. First he'd have to question the former residents to see if they caught a glimpse at the arsonist. He approached an elderly man who was digging through a burned lacquer box.

"Sumimasen, did you see the fire start?" asked Ryoma trying to be as polite as possible even though he hated formalities.

He never heard an answer because of a scream that covered it up. Ryoma turned in the direction the scream was coming from. Running in his direction was a simple peasant running for his life with ten men with clubs running after him. The poor man in rags slipped in the mud and the men surrounded him beating him with the sticks they had. The ragged man flailed up his hands to shield himself from the blows.

Ryoma sighed. Idiots who did that frequently never learned no matter how many times they land flat on their bums. The yoriki walked over and using a front sweep swept one of the attackers off the ground and right on his behind. The rest stopped their assault on the man and began to advance on Ryoma.

"You know people like you never learn no matter how many spankings they get from their superiors," said Ryoma with a bored look on his face. "People of higher class who pick on the lower ones look even more degrading than people of the lowest class."

"Who's talking?" All heads turned to see a brute-looking man strutting towards them. Ryoma instantly recognized what the man was from the weapon near his side. The weapon was a jitte, the standard weapon for the law enforcement officers or doshin.

"Who are you?" asked the doshin in a gruff tone.

"Yoriki Echizen Ryoma desu," replied the yoriki. "Now explain why your men are beating the crap out of a citizen while they're on duty." He had a stern face with a tinge of annoyance by how his eyebrows were knitted. The doshin and their civilian assistants were so useless sometimes that he didn't know what to do with them.

The doshin gasped and his mouth hung open for a second before he bowed hastily.

"Yoriki Echizen-san, didn't recognized you," muttered the doshin. He jerked his head at his men and they got down on their knees and bowed. "I sincerely apologize." Yoriki Ryoma could easily tell that the doshin didn't truly meant what he said. Those narrow eyes were glaring at his striped haori and newly washed black hakama as well as his swords. It wasn't surprising at all to Ryoma. The yoriki had quite a reputation in vanity. He himself didn't pay much attention to fashion, but his superior consecutively stressed on the proper dress and appearance, all of which Ryoma never paid attention to no matter how many times it was told to him such as shave his crown or grow his greenish hair out.

"Forget the formality crap," said Ryoma. "I want to know why your men were beating an innocent citizen."

The doshin's face now had a bewildered. Yoriki rarely ventured out on the streets preferring to stay away from everyday police work. Normally yoriki came only in serious situations and dressed in full armor. Logics told Ryoma that he was the first yoriki yet to investigate a common fire.

"He did it!" said the doshin angrily pointing at the man quivering in the dirt. "Set off the fire. Killed 20 people."

"And how do you know it's him?" asked Ryoma quirking an eyebrow.

"The townspeople saw a man running away from here just after the fire started. We found this insolent insect. And he confessed."

Ryoma walked past the assistants and knelt next to the quivering man.

"Tachinasai," said Ryoma as gentle as he could though in his mind that didn't sound too gentle. The man slowly raised his wrinkled face…and suddenly a bright toothless smile broke out among the wrinkles.

"Yes master," said the man. Ryoma was slightly surprised. For a man who was older than he was he sure acted more like a nine-year-old. Obviously this man had something wrong with his mind.

"Anata no namae wa nan desu ka?" asked Ryoma.

"Yes master." Ryoma quirked an eyebrow and repeated his question. Once again he got the same answer. He decided to ask something else.

"Where do you live?"

"Yes master."

"Did you start the fire?"

"Yes master, yes master," said the man. Ryoma glared first at the man then at the doshin who captured the so-called 'arsonist'. Obviously the men were slacking off on duty…again. Upon seeing Ryoma's glare the elderly man started quivering.

"No master, please don't hurt me master!" pleaded the man.

"This man is the arsonist?" asked Ryoma to the doshin quirking an eyebrow. "He can't even understand what I'm saying." The doshin's face turned red from embarrassment trying his best to hide it.

"I asked him and he said yes. How was I suppose to know he was an idiot?" said the doshin his jitte quivering in his clenched fist. A moment later shouts were heard from the small crowd that had gathered.

"He's a beggar!"

"He didn't start the fire!"

"Yakamashi!" shouted the doshin who was starting to lose his temper, which instantly silenced any protests coming from the crowd. "Arson is a serious crime. Someone must pay!" Ryoma had heard from rumors that the doshin only wanted to catch a scapegoat instead of investigating to find the real criminal. From what he saw in front of his face it was true. Ryoma's quick eye caught the doshin's hand straying toward the jitte clenched in a sweating fist. Ryoma knew that the man was only holding back because of his status and as seeing from what he did to the assistants he could humiliate him in front of a crowd and his assistants. And on the first day of duty, Yoriki Echizen Ryoma had made an enemy.

In order to keep the peace he resolved the matter quickly being as content and calm as possible.

"Then let's find the real criminal. We will question the townspeople to get a detailed description on the real arsonist," said Ryoma. "Aa, demo, let the man go first." The doshin hesitated for a moment before muttering a 'Hai' and nodded to his men who turned the beggar loose.

As he went around asking men and women for a description of the arsonist Ryoma couldn't help but think about what he did moments ago. He had resolved a matter and saved an innocent man's life. This job was better than he had presumed.

-X-

It was early afternoon by the time Ryoma came back to the administrative district. Here the city's high officials had their office-mansions where they lived and worked. Messengers bearing rolled documents raced up and down the corridors. Other yoriki talked in small groups about the latest political gossip. Servants carrying trays piled high with food hustled only as fast as they could without tipping the lacquer lunchboxes off the trays in their arms. Upon smelling the delicious delicacies coming from the lunchboxes Ryoma had a tinge of regret that he ate the greasy soba at a small restaurant, but the fire investigation had taken more than he thought it would and he was hungry. Turning a corner his destination was the police headquarters.

"Yoriki Echizen-san!" shouted a messenger who slowed his running and hastily bowed taking in deep breaths. "Please, sir, Magistrate Mizuki wants to see you at once. In the Court of Justice." He raised his at Ryoma.

"Very well, you're dismissed," said Ryoma and upon hearing those words the messenger ran through the narrow corridor to deliver the scroll in his hand. Ryoma sighed and changed his destination to the Court of Justice wondering why his superior wanted him there, but a summon from the magistrate couldn't be ignored no matter how much he wanted to.

Magistrate Mizuki's mansion was one of the largest in the district. At the roofed gates of the large mansion Ryoma identified himself to a pair of guards dressed in leather armor and helmets. He left his horse with them and walked onto the mansion grounds maneuvering through a small crowd. Some were here to give their disputes to the magistrate, others- accompanied by doshin and their hands bound by rope- were prisoners probably awaiting trial.

Ryoma hesitated at the main entrance of the long low building in front of him. The building on the outside didn't look at all welcoming casting deep shadows everywhere. This was the first time Ryoma had been to the Court of Justice and the descriptions he heard all fit. The garden outside of the building where harsh sentences were declared inside reminded him of a graveyard with the ugly trees and unlit lanterns.

Tearing his eyes away from the horrid sight he climbed the wooden steps and with permission from the guards stationed there he pushed open the massive doors and entered.

"Farmer Nomura." Magistrate Mizuki's voice echoed across the vast room as Ryoma hesitated at the entryway. "I have considered all the evidence brought before me as of the crime which you are charged."

Ryoma walked to the back away from the dimly lit area. Toward the front sat Magistrate Mizuki who was wearing, to Ryoma's dismay, purple robes. A man only two years older than he was Magistrate Mizuki had on that same evil smirk that Ryoma hated ever since he first saw it. Two lit candles stood on either side of the desk in front of him giving him somewhat of a tyrannous aura. The rest of the room was dark save for small specks of light coming from the rice paper doors. Directly before the desk was the shirasu where the criminal was bound between two doshin standing on either side of him. In the back was a small audience- the accused man's family members, witnesses, and the headman of his neighborhood- formed a row in the back.

"The evidence points out that you are guilty of the murder of twenty people," Mizuki continued.

"No!" screamed the accused man. In the back several of the spectators cried out, but most remained silent.

"I sentence you to death," said Mizuki his voice raised. "Your family is also banished from the province." He nodded to the doshin who dragged the screaming prisoner away. Some attendants came and took the prisoner's family away. One woman had to be dragged out but otherwise the rest left without a struggle.

"Echizen Ryoma," said Mizuki. Ryoma walked forward and knelt behind the shirasu trying his best to hide his fear. Mizuki had but a moment ago had sent a man to his death and banished his family from the province. Mizuki had been working as one of Edo's two magistrates for ten years. He'd handled so many trials that sometimes he was a bit unjust in punishing the criminal. Ryoma bowed to Mizuki.

"Hai?"

Mizuki's fingers toyed with his seal, a symbol that showed his rank and office. The kanji of his last name and rank were engraved on it.

"Arson is a serious crime," said Mizuki. "Though not an uncommon one."

"Hai," said Ryoma though he didn't know why his superior needed him. If his superior going to ramble about his looks then he wouldn't pay attention. Mizuki was too much of a stylist.

"You should leave those low-class matters to the low-class. And what you did made you seem lower than you are as well as others."

Then Ryoma understood what the magistrate was saying. Spies and informers of the shogun in Edo; they were a part of an intelligent network that helped the Tokugawa shogun maintain his unmatched power over Japan. Obviously one of them must have reported this to Mizuki. Ryoma kept a straight face, but inwardly sighed. Haven't people the term known as privacy? Plus, the magistrate said that he shamed the government all the way up to the shogun for doing the doshin's work. To him, that was insulting.

"_Excuse me_, Mizuki-_san_," said Ryoma adding a great amount of emphasis on the suffix 'excuse me' and 'san'. "Those baka doshin were going to arrest a man that couldn't understand a word-"

Mizuki smirked and calmly held up a finger silencing the cocky yoriki. If Mizuki wasn't his boss Ryoma would have leapt up and knocked that evil smirk off the purple-robed man's face. Instead of talking about the arson Mizuki changed the subject.

"I had the pleasure of having tea with Sakaki-san yesterday," said Mizuki who once again went back to toying with his seal again. The word 'Sakaki-san' instantly stopped any further protests coming from the yoriki. Sakaki was Ryoma's patron, the one who got him the job as yoriki.

The Sakaki family had quite a relationship with the Echizen family. It was an old family thing that happened during the Heian Period. Ryoma's ancestor, a soldier in the Genji army saved a fellow soldier from an incoming Heike general. The Sakaki family's fortune increased while the Echizen family's wealth, on the other hand, decreased, but it bound the two families inextricably.

Two months ago Ryoma's father, Echizen Nanjirou, went to see Sakaki asking him if he could find his son a job seeing as the family was suffering severe financial problems and despite the fact that Nanjirou was still young enough to work he was abnormally lazy hanging out with geisha and getting drunk constantly. Sakaki said that he couldn't guarantee anything but he'll see what he could do.

"I trust we understand each other," said Mizuki still turning the seal over with his fingers bring Ryoma back to the scene in front of him.

"Hai," replied Ryoma heavily. Even though he was an independent man he still had to follow the way of the bushido even if he had to take orders from a man that he find rather annoying. He hoped that the magistrate was finished, but unfortunately, he wasn't.

"A small matter has come to my attention," said Mizuki. "You will do exactly what I say." The straightforwardness in Mizuki's voice piped up Ryoma's curiosity.

"A servant found a man dead in a room. Next to him was a woman alive, but her kimono was messed up and had blood on it. The servant told the doshin that the woman's name was Sakuno and she was married to that man," said Mizuki. "From the looks of the circumstances the woman had an affair." At this his eyebrows frowned in disgust.

At this Ryoma's curiosity grew. Most marriages were arranged and divorcing your spouse meant death no matter what the circumstances. If the husband had an affair than it was okay and life went on, but if the _wife_ had an affair than the husband has every right to kill her. Why did Mizuki want him to handle a petty murder after a wife's affair?

As if the magistrate read his mind he spoke. "The man is the first son of the daimyo Atobe according to the Lady Atobe and the woman Sakuno is indeed the son's wife. The woman constantly denied that she had an affair and that the man wasn't her husband, but she was sent to Edo Jail."

Now Ryoma understood why Mizuki wanted him to handle this. The victim was, if he heard correctly, was the son of a powerful daimyo, lord of the Satsuma and Osumi Provinces, and one of the wealthiest most powerful daimyo.

"I can see that you understand," said Mizuki. "You will act quickly. You will have the man's body returned to his family and inform your staff to censor the media about his death or otherwise. The woman Sakuno, on the other hand, will be sentenced to death. Have her execution scheduled for next month. That will be all, Yoriki Echizen-kun."

Conflicted emotions filled Ryoma. That was _it_? Have the man's body returned and censored the media and the woman executed? To Ryoma, who wanted a real adventure for once, this case was boring. Then again, he had made a pledge to play by the rules.

"Hai."

-X-

Ryoma gained admittance to the police guards at the police headquarters and turned his horse over to a stableboy. Crossing a yard he entered the loud building. In the hallway, chaos ensured. Four clerks at four desks dispatched messengers and dealt with the man visitors lined up. Doshin ran in and out checking in and checking out or to give their reports. Servants scuffled around carrying trays with cups and other delicacies.

Ryoma turned a corner and found another Yoriki. This Yoriki seemed to like style judging from the blue and light blue haori and white hakama.

"Wakato," said Ryoma nodding his head. Wakato Hiroshi was two years older than him and had quite an ego.

"Hello, newcomer," said Wakato with a weird smirk. "I trust that your work is going as well as could be expected from a man not born with the responsibility."

Ryoma resisted the urge to punch his lights out as he walked away. His level of sword fighting was much higher than his. Ryoma wasn't like his other 49 colleagues. Unlike him, the others inherited their positions from their fathers. To them, with Ryoma getting the position so easily was a disgrace. It made Ryoma shiver, but he easily hid it. Nodding to the clerks he entered his own office. What greeted him was another source of unhappiness.

Momoshiro Takeshi, his secretary, was sleeping on the floor snoring quite loudly. The report of the case was laid on the desk next to a charcoal brazier. Next to him was an empty lacquer lunchbox obviously Ryoma's. Momoshiro was only a year older than him yet he was lazier. He had black hair that was definitely defying gravity and was wearing a yukata. When he saw Ryoma he immediately sat up.

"Echizen!" he said quickly shoving the lunchbox under the desk. "Hi!" Ryoma didn't like the man much. He was acting too cheerful even though there wasn't much to be cheerful about. Momo's father wanted him to get a job so Mizuki had assigned him to Ryoma. He was pretty much lousy. Still, Ryoma couldn't help but enjoy hanging around with him since he knew how to make jokes and was also as left out as he was.

"All right, Momo," said Ryoma looking at the report. "Take this report." He sat near the desk while Momo got the writing supplies. After he had grounded the ink and settled at his own smaller desk Ryoma began.

"The sixteenth day of the twelve month, Genroku year one. Regarding the matters of the murder of-"

Ryoma paused while Momo gasped in dismay at what he wrote. He crumpled the paper and sheepishly went back to the cabinet again for more paper. Ryoma sighed. Despite his fairly good skills with a sword, Momo's calligraphy was as good as a child's. Ryoma would have preferred to write his own reports, but he had to follow the rules even if he did have to use his somewhat useless secretary. Besides, the violet-eyed secretary insisted. After Momo got another sheet of paper the two men tediously worked together to complete the report. Finally, on the fourth draft, the report had no mistakes. Sighing with relief Ryoma affixed his seal to it.

"Take this to the chief clerk and have him send word to the departments involved," he told Momo.

"Hai!" Momo took the report, rolled it up, and tied a silk ribbon around it. Getting up, he slid open the door. Outside Ryoma could hear laughter in the corridor. He could hear Wakato and another Yoriki talking in loud voices. He picked up snips of their conversation about going to Yoshiwara tonight and hanging out with the geisha. He had, unfortunately, picked up too much and ended up hearing more than what he had wanted to hear.

All at once a picture of the future snapped in Ryoma's mind. If he kept obeying his superior who had a disturbing addiction to purple he would end up like those two Yoriki who walked past his office. His principles would mean nothing to him and he would let his men do the work and care more about fashion and hanging out with prostitutes. The thought made him shudder.

"Matte!" he ordered Momo. Snatching the report from the startled secretary he tore it up. Quickly he wrote another report classifying the murder as suspicious and requires further investigation. He affixed his seal to it and handed it to Momo. No more orders for him to obey. This time he was going to look deeper into this case and figure it out. He was going to bend a few more rules to figure out this case.

Something wasn't right about this so-called affair.

TBC… 

**Should I continue? Please review and tell me! Flames should be reduced to only polite criticisms otherwise I might break down or get a fire extinguisher before it melts my laptop. Sorry if I'm picking on a few characters. DON'T WORRY ATOBE FANS THE GUY MURDERED WASN'T ATOBE KEIGO! I need 'ore-sama' for something. Here's a list of things that readers might not understand and what they are. Until then, ja ne!**

Yoriki- Yoriki are kind of like detectives

Doshin- Doshin are somewhat like policeman ranking below yoriki

Jitte- I believe jitte are sai because from the description I found they are

Seal- Seals were only for the high ranks and samurai. They affix it to things like reports and paintings. For those below those ranks they had to cut their finger and smear the blood on the paper to show that's theirs

Calligraphy- At that time samurai were required to know calligraphy (kanji a.k.a. Chinese writing)

Geisha- Geisha were women who entertained men. They had skills such as dancing and playing instruments. Most were also prostitutes

Affairs- There was a law about affairs. If a man had an affair than that was fine. However, if a married woman had an affair than her husband had every right to kill 


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, I know everyone sounds kind of modern, but I will be putting some Edo language in here. The format is easy to follow as long as you know the vocabulary and markers. I don't know if this is going to also be humor, angst, or any other genre so just play along, okay?**

**DISCLAIMER: Plot's mine, but that's it**

**WARNING: OOC, AU**

**PAIRINGS: None yet (had a request for RyoSaku, but I don't know if I should accept it or decline it)**

**Chapter 2**

Edo Jail was by no means a place of death where no one would want to go voluntarily. Ryoma had never been there before and wouldn't want to come had he heard that the woman Sakuno was being kept here until her execution in a month. Now he surveyed the horrible building in front of him with disgust.

The prison was sprawled in back of a moat before the entrance. Guard towers were stationed at every corner that anyone could see for miles. Dark liquid that looked like it was mixed an assortment of unspeakable things poured out of the base and into the moat. Above the walls, the gabled roof protruded. It was obvious how the jail treated its occupants. There was weed and moss growing between the stones, missing roof tiles, and peeling plaster. A rickety bridge that looked like it could hold no more than one average man at a time was the only way to get across the canal filled with slime and the stench of blood and vomit. Near the Edo Jail were the winding streets of Kodemma-cho. It was an ideal sight for the prison well away from the administrative buildings and mansions.

Ryoma covered his nose from the unbearable stench with his sleeve and was happy that the ragged children were shrilling to block any sound that might have come from behind the neglected walls. He had heard about what went on inside that prison and they didn't sound all that pleasant. Taking a deep breath he tied his horse to a tree and crossed the bridge.

A commotion erupted in the guardhouse upon Ryoma's arrival. When he had crossed the bridge the three guards stationed there nearly broke the door down trying to go out to meet him. They exchanged confused glances at first then they bowed deeply.

"We are at your service, master," they said. Ryoma took in their unkempt appearances and armor that certainly should get replaced or fixed. Obviously these men were probably criminals permitted to bear arms so that samurai wouldn't have to do such degrading work in guarding a filthy jail.

"Yoriki Echizen Ryoma desu," said Ryoma. "I wish to interview the prisoner involved in the affair and murder." The guards gawked at the yoriki. Obviously they never had a yoriki visitor before let alone hear a request like this. Ryoma assumed that none of his colleagues went to the Edo Jail either. They probably thought that the place wasn't worth seeing compared to brothels. Finally one of the guards came to his senses and backhanded another one in the head hard.

"Itai!"

"What are you standing there for?" he growled. "Take him to the warden now!" The guard instantly obeyed and after removing the wooden beams opened the barred gates. Ryoma entered the jail preparing for the worst yet. It looked and smelled almost exactly as how he pictured it. The odor of urine and vomit was high in the air. Thirty paces beyond there was a small wooden building. When Ryoma got closer he could partially see a room that could have been an administrative office had it not been for the bad furnishing and the state of how the workers were. The guard rapped on the door.

"Hairinasai!" The guard bowed to whoever was inside.

"Warden, I bring you a distinguished visitor," said the guard. Ryoma stepped inside. The man he saw inside was a stout man who was looking over some filed papers. He was astonished to hear Ryoma's request, but complied knowing that if he argued he'd be punished.

"Tell the eta to bring this prisoner," said the warden showing a paper to the guard. The guard bowed and hurried off. Within minutes he had come back with two eta dragging a woman the ropes which binded her wrists. The woman had long brown hair up in a knot like how most woman did their hair except that it was messy as if she had been tortured. The cotton kimono she wore was filthy and reeked with the smell of the prison itself. Her small body quivered in fright at the sight of Ryoma's swords. Samurai sometimes would test the sharpness of his blade by slaying anybody who got near.

"Are you Sakuno?" asked Ryoma. The woman shakily got on her knees and bowed.

"Hai."

"Yoriki Echizen Ryoma desu. Watashi-"

Ryoma paused suddenly remembering the guard and the warden. He glared at the said men. "I wish to speak with the prisoner, _alone_, thank you." Hearing those words the two men quickly left without any complaints. Softening his expression slightly he turned back to the prisoner. Suddenly the woman started protesting while tugging on the sleeve of his haori.

"Yoriki-san, I didn't murder that man! I'm not even married to him! Lady Atobe was-"

"Was I accusing you of anything?" asked Ryoma silencing the woman while brushing her hand off his sleeve. "I'm here to ask you what really happened with you and the dead man."

"I-I went to a restaurant to have a meal. Then as I was having some sushi that man appeared. He had a short sword in his hand. I could tell he was drunk because of how his breath smelled. He tried to attack me, but I fought him off. Then I was hit on the head. When I came to the man was dead." Ryoma was pondering over what he heard. Inside he was thinking over several factors that might have led to the murder. Then again she could be lying and simply playing innocent.

"Anata no oshigoto wa nan desu ka?" Sakuno stuttered a bit before Ryoma could make out her sentence clearly.

"I-I help my grandmother who runs a dojo," she replied. Ryoma nodded.

"Kanojo wa doko desu ka?"

"She lives in the small house next to the Ryuuzaki Dojo in Nihonbashi."

"Arigatou gozaimasu," said Ryoma nodding his head. He nodded to the guard who took her away, but not before Ryoma mouthed as she was dragged back to her cell, "I'll clear your name before your execution."

-X-

It was a little before the dinner hour when Ryoma reached the dojo in Nihonbashi. The town itself was small so it wasn't hard to locate the dojo. The dojo itself was larger than he presumed it to be in a tiny town like Nihonbashi. Obviously the dojo was popular. Before he got there Ryoma asked some of the townspeople about the dojo. They all said that the sensei was indeed Sakuno's grandmother and that she was a great teacher.

Ryoma slid open the door and entered. Inside it looked like all the other dojos that he had visited before. Only this time there were perhaps a dozen students. They were all either sparring with each other using wooden swords or practicing basic sword swings on the side with a shinai. Towards the back was a woman perhaps in her late 60s in a gi and her hair in a ponytail. Upon Ryoma's arrival all of them stopped what they were doing and stared at the visitor. The woman in the back walked up to the front.

"We already paid this month!" she said. Ryoma quirked an eyebrow before he knew what she meant. He had heard some rumors about certain yoriki who abuse their power by forcing the townspeople to pay protection fees every month and according to the rumors the fees were high. The yoriki made a quick note in his mind to tell Mizuki to keep a better control on his other 49 colleagues. Who knows what other kinds of trouble they might be causing to the lower classes!

"I'm not here for money," said Ryoma. "I'm here to ask you about a serious matter that has come to my attention about a relative of yours. I want to ask some questions about your granddaughter." The old woman's eyes widened in surprised. Then she instructed one of the students to take over before gesturing the yoriki to come. She led him to a back room with spare shinai, bokuto, and other weapons carefully placed on separate shelves. The old woman sat down on a futon and Ryoma sat across from her.

"Anata wa dare desu ka?" asked the woman

"Yoriki Echizen Ryoma desu," replied Ryoma with a small nod of his head. "You must be Ryuuzaki Sumire." The elderly woman didn't answer right away. Instead she was staring at Ryoma. She had a confused expression on her face.

"Is your father Echizen Nanjirou?" asked Ryuuzaki Sumire. Ryoma hated to get off the subject especially when he was on a case involving the woman's granddaughter, but he answered anyway.

"Hai. Why?"

"The old man was a student of mine in this dojo," replied the master. "Has he gotten lazier?"

"Hai. Ima, back to what I wanted to talk about. Kikinasai, do you know that your granddaughter, Sakuno, has been arrested and taken to the Edo Jail?" The older woman gasped. She hadn't heard about it.

"Iie. Sakuno wa nani wo shimashita ka?" asked Ryuuzaki-sensei now concerned.

"She was accused of a murder of the son of some daimyo," replied the yoriki back in bored mode. "However, those doshin and that purple freak of a magistrate didn't gather enough evidence and apparently seemed like they were too lazy to investigate so they declared Sakuno guilty and…" He got serious at this point "…she's going to be executed in a month."

Ryuuzaki-sensei suddenly became pale. She looked like she was about to faint. Then she pulled herself together and asked in a slightly trembling voice, "What was the crime she was accused?"

"She was accused of having an affair and then accidentally killing her so-called 'husband' in the middle of a scuffle," replied the yoriki once again using his bored tone. The dojo sensei suddenly slammed her fists on the futon.

"That's not true!" she cried. Ryoma quirked an eyebrow at her.

"What's not true?"

"Sakuno couldn't have been involved in that affair!"

"Why not?"

"She was never married!"

Ryoma's golden eyes widened in surprised. The woman was still single? So in a way, she was telling the truth. Ryoma could tell that Ryuuzaki-sensei was telling the truth because of how she had paled when he mentioned about Sakuno's execution and since his father would have trusted her anyway.

"Nani?"

"True she had several suitors, but we denied all of them! I don't know who framed her or why, but whoever told the police lied!" shouted Ryuuzaki-sensei.

"She could be lying for all I know." The dojo master suddenly pinched the yoriki on the cheek. Ryoma winced as he felt the pain. For an old woman she had quite a grip!

"OKAY, OKAY I BELIEVE THE BOTH OF YOU!" yelled the helpless yoriki desperate for the dojo master to release her grip, but only succeeded in making Ryuuzaki-sensei tightening her grip on his poor cheek. The dojo master obviously hated yoriki especially the sons of ex-students of hers. "SERIOUSLY! I REALLY BELIEVE YOU!" The dojo master hesitated for a moment before letting go allowing Ryoma to rub the harassed side of his face.

"Can you clear her name?" she asked.

"I'll try."

-X-

As Ryoma once again had another meal of cheap sushi he pondered about what he heard. So Sakuno **was** telling the truth. Now the question was why was she framed and who did it? The first thing, he decided, was to pay a visit to the Atobe family tomorrow.

**TBC…**

**I'm sorry if it's short, but I'm trying to make them as long as possible. I'll try to make the next chapter longer. Oh, and here's some references if you have little knowledge on ancient Japan.**

Haori- I got a review asking what a haori was so I'll tell you. Haori is the outfit that samurai wore in the Edo Period. You know the outfit Kenshin from 'Ruroni Kenshin' wears? The top is a haori and the pants are called hakama

Hairinasai- This is the command form of the verb enter. In Edo language verbs, like English, have a present and past tense, but they also have a command version.

Watashi- Probably for all you people who know modern Japanese you're probably wondering why I put Ryoma saying 'Watashi' instead of 'Boku' or 'Ore'. Well, the reason why is in my Japanese class my teacher told even the boys to say 'Watashi' so for now I'll make Ryoma say 'Watashi' as well.

Next Chapter: Ryoma pays a visit to the Atobe family asking about what happened before the man's death


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